Prominent opposition leaders, who were jailed in the crackdown which followed Bahrain’s uprising in 2011, are being denied medical treatment for their conditions. They are among a group of opposition activists who received harsh jail sentences as the Bahraini authorities sought to crush resistance to the repression.

Abduljalil Al-Singace (top right), a former professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bahrain, gained his PhD at the University of Manchester in the UK. He has been denied medical treatment for a perforated eardrum and other ailments and family visits because he refuses to wear the prison uniform. He is a leader of Al-Haq opposition movement. His case was recently taken up by the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), an international network of academics, which wrote in protest to the Bahraini authorities at his treatment.

Abdelwahab al-Husain (top left) co-founder of the Al-Wafa’ movement, an opposition political movement, was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2011. His daughter Aqeelah contacted MENA Solidarity Network last week:

“My father was severely tortured during his arrest in March 2011 and is now suffering from torture-related injuries that are yet to heal. He is also suffering from numerous medical conditions; my father was diagnosed with non-insulin dependent type II diabetes mellitus and as a consequence of both physical & psychological torture, and being in prison since March 2011, his blood sugar has not been under regular control.”

Abdelwahab is a carrier of sickle cell disease and suffers from chronic anaemia and is also suffering from neuropathic pain, Aqeelah added. Neither of these conditions are being treated properly in prison.

What you can do:

• Send letters of protest to the Bahraini authorities via the Bahraini embassy in your country
• Email us menasolidarity @ gmail.com or leave a comment below this article to send a message of solidarity to jailed Bahraini activists
• Solidarity signs to print for Abduljalil Al-Singace and Abdelwahab Husain